


Misunderstandings

by ZDcookie_996



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Bad Jos, Cuddles, Hurt/Comfort, Jos punches someone, Kissing, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Misunderstandings, Protective Boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23044081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZDcookie_996/pseuds/ZDcookie_996
Summary: Jos finds out that Max is dating a driver but when he comes to the wrong conclusion, someone ends up getting hurt.
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/George Russell, Lando Norris/Max Verstappen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110





	Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Another story with angry Jos, I just can't help myself. I promise there will come a day where I will write about Jos in a positive light. Anyway, this story is based upon Jos on a mission to find his son's boyfriend. It mainly follows Jos' thoughts and follows his interpretations of the different drivers that Max's interacts with. This story is set in Belgium of 2019 so it will have brief mentions of Anthoine. It follows through the race weekend until the moment in which someone is hurt due to the quick conclusions that Jos draws up. Hope you all enjoy! Please remember that this is not real in any sense! I just had this idea a while ago and I had to write about it. Please leave comments and any prompts!

Jos knew it wasn’t a good idea to be rifling through his son’s backpack in order to find his phone charger. Max had stayed with his father for a few days during the time between Hungary and Belgium where there was a gap mid season and he had taken his father's charger by accident. Every time Jos said to Max about it, his son would inevitably end up forgetting about it. Jos decided that since his son was in the bathroom, he would find the damn thing himself. The charger was tangled at the bottom of the bag and as he dragged it out, a piece of paper came out with it. It read:

Drive like the lion and roar until you win! Good luck, babe! I love you.

Jos frowned as he read the note over and over again. The paper was very crumpled, suggesting that it had sat in Max’s bag for a long time. Was Max dating someone? He knew for a fact that it wasn’t Sophie’s writing and Victoria never called Max ‘babe’. His son was dating, he had to be. Jos tightened his grip on the paper as his anger boiled. When Max came out and told the family he was gay, Jos had been the one who was difficult. Whilst Max had only dated one or two men, Jos tried to keep the focus on his driving. When the topic of dating or boyfriends did come up, Jos would always try and set him up with a nice girl. It never worked. It was probably why Max was dating someone right now and had kept quiet. Jos threw the note back into Max’s bag. He ran a hand over his hair as he tried to think about how to handle the revelation. Max was clearly in a relationship and Jos asked him about the note, Max would know that he had been in his bag and his son hated it when people touched his stuff. He could confront Max but the young driver would probably act ignorant or keep quiet. Jos realised that he would have to keep an eye on Max. He would have to spy on him and possibly try and keep an eye on his son’s phone. That probably wouldn’t work, just thinking about it, Jos knew that Max was a private person when he wanted to be. He was going to have to do things the hard way. Jos leaned back into his seat as he tried to think about the man that Max could possibly be dating. His son had friends in different places. Whilst Max did have friends in Monaco, he knew people in the Netherlands and Belgium too. He couldn’t be sure that the young man was in a long distance relationship but he had no idea. He also kept in touch with other drivers he had raced alongside from his karting days. Dread then filled his stomach. Maybe another reason why Max was so quiet about his relationship was because it was with someone who was in F1. The last time Max was in a relationship, he had told his dad about his boyfriend, although rather reluctantly, only because the man wasn’t a fan of going out and more of a fan of staying in with Max. Jos prayed that his son wasn’t in a relationship with another driver. Surely there couldn’t be more than one gay driver? What if it was someone who worked for Red Bull? It could cause distractions. Fuck. He hoped that the team didn’t know. His son’s focus should be on his career and nothing else. He was young and had the makings of a champion. He could settle down later, perhaps after retirement, then look into having a serious relationship. Obviously with a woman, Jos would never allow Max to be with a man. It didn’t work out that way. For now though, his son was in a relationship and Jos was determined to find out who he was dating. He fumbled about with the charger when he heard Max speaking as he returned to the living room. Max frowned at his dad who was sitting casually, with a small smile on his face as he tried to act normal.

“What?” Max asked.

Jos shook his head.

“Nothing.” He said calmly.

When Max turned, the smile dropped from Jos’ face. He was going to do a little bit of investigating.

A couple of days later, Jos and Max headed out to Belgium. The older man was determined to keep an eye on his son to see how he interacted with other men. He had to find out who his son was with. If the mysterious boyfriend wasn’t in the F1 world, then Jos was back to square 1 so Belgium was the starting point. When Jos and Max arrived at their hotel to check in, they were greeted by Daniel. Jos wasn’t really acknowledged so he just watched the interaction. Daniel and Max were laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Jos had wondered if Daniel was Max’s boyfriend. The pair got on well but then Jos always felt that they were more like good friends or brothers than lovers. Jos couldn’t keep up with the conversation as he waited at reception for the room keys. It wasn’t until the receptionist returned with the keys and the older man turned back to the drivers that Jos realised they were looking at him expectantly. 

“I’m going to go and keep Daniel company for a bit. I’ll go and dump my bags first. I’ll see you in the morning.” Max informed.

Jos nodded.

“Yes, see you in the morning.” He mumbled.

He watched as the pair happily walked away from him. Jos had to keep an eye on them. He had to know if Daniel was the mystery boyfriend. He waited until Max and Daniel had gone into the lift before patiently standing for it to return to the ground floor. When he eventually got to his floor, he slowly made his way along the corridor but stopped before he could turn at the end of it when he heard two males talking. He listened closely and realised that it was Daniel and Max. Jos was in the room next to Max and so he carefully looked round the side as he continued to hide out of sight. The pair were smiling at each other as they stood in front of Max’s hotel room door with his bag and case still there.

“So, how’s the boyfriend?” Daniel asked teasingly.

Jos glared at the pair as Max thumped him playfully on the shoulder. At least Jos knew that it wasn’t Daniel.

“He’s good. He’s coming through to Monaco after this race.” Max replied happily.

“Are you not going back to Monaco together?” Asked Daniel.

“No, I’m going home with dad. He doesn’t know that I’m in a relationship so I can’t be seen with him.” Explained Max.

Jos could no longer look at the pair and he turned back around to look at the wall in front of him. He heard Daniel sigh as he continued to listen into the conversation.

“You’ll have to tell him at some point, Max. You’re dating a driver, he’s going to find out eventually." Daniel tried to reason.

“I know.” Responded Max, sadly.

Jos blocked out the rest of the conversation. Max was dating a driver, a rival. This was confirmation of his worst nightmare. This was why Max hadn’t told him. He was furious. Daniel knew. Max hadn’t told his own father. How dare he?! Jos came out of his thoughts when he heard a door closing. He looked back round the corner again and saw that the corridor was empty. He quietly made his way to his own room and tried to remain quiet as he knew that Max was next door. Jos sighed as he laid down on the bed. He had to find out who Max was dating and quickly. 

The next morning, Jos accompanied Max to the track for media day. He was on a mission to keep an eye on the interactions Max had with other drivers. Since he knew that his son was in fact dating another driver, he had a few names in his mind. Daniel was ruled out. The next person Jos thought it could be was Alex, his son’s new teammate. He watched on as Max and Alex shook hands and smiled at one another as they met in the Red Bull hospitality. Jos noticed that they weren’t looking awkward and Max said it was good to see him. If they were dating, it could be possible that they would have to try and act natural in front of Jos because he didn’t know about the relationship. However, Jos couldn’t see anything wrong with the way the pair were acting. They got on well and were looking forward to racing as teammates. Jos wasn’t sure if Alex had a girlfriend or if he was single but from his impressions of the driver, he didn’t think he was gay. It was difficult for Jos as he tried to work out what Alex’s intentions were. He seemed to get along really well with Max. He was sure that Max was just a friend to Alex. The Dutchman concluded by the end of the day that the young driver was in love with driving rather than his son.

By Friday, Jos had only one or two drivers in his head who could possibly be Max’s boyfriend. He wondered if Carlos was dating his son. They seemed to be really good friends from when they were teammates at Toro Rosso and all Max could ever talk about was Carlos. Even if they weren’t dating, Max could still have a crush on the Spaniard. Afterall, he was good looking. Another person Jos had in mind was Pierre. Max and Pierre had been teammates up until the summer and they were really good friends. The only problem was that Pierre was dating Cate but Jos couldn’t be sure if she was just a cover. Then again, he had never really seen Pierre and Cate interact so he couldn’t really if they obviously loved each other. It did become obvious to Jos when he arrived in the paddock that Pierre and Cate were hopelessly in love with each other as they gazed at one another. They were holding hands as they walked towards the Toro Rosso motorhome. Jos could see that they were deeply in love and so Pierre couldn’t possibly be dating Max. He had the chance to witness a moment of interaction between Max and Carlos before first practice started. He had been looking for his son who had disappeared before he was due to jump in the car and Jos wanted to tell him to get his priorities straight. Max and Carlos were standing huddled in between the motorhomes outside and that was where Jos found them. He stayed back a safe distance but close enough to hear their conversation. 

“So lover boy is staying with you after Italy, huh? He’s very excited.” Teased Carlos. 

Max laughed.

“Yeah, it will be nice to spend a bit more time with him away from this.” He stated.

“Enjoy it while you can.” Carlos said.

Jos frantically made his way back into the garage before Max could spot him. Another driver was crossed off the list. Another driver knew about Max’s boyfriend. Jos really wanted to ask Max what his problem was but he couldn’t. He had to find out who was dating his son and tell them a thing or two about how they were going to wreck Max’s career and distract him. Whilst Jos watched first practice from his position in the garage, his mind cast over to the young Ferrari driver of Charles Leclerc who was now on the TV screens. Jos knew for a fact that Max wasn’t dating Charles. The two drivers disliked each other and besides Charles had a girlfriend. It was the only good thing about social media. He found out that Charles had left his girlfriend and now had a new one. Charles and Max were different characters and even if opposites were to attract, Jos knew that Max couldn’t be with someone like the Ferrari driver. 

On Saturday, Jos was slightly distracted from his mission as he tried to help his son succeed in achieving pole position. Things didn’t work out in qualifying and sadly things took a turn for the worst when news of Anthoine’s crash hit the paddock. Jos was immediately reminded of the dangers that came with racing. He knew that Max was strong and wouldn’t be fazed when he went into the car. He will get through the race tomorrow. Jos later found himself wandering through the paddock and his attention was diverted to two figures hiding in between the motorhomes. He noticed that the figures were two men. One he immediately recognised as George Russell and it wasn’t until he moved that he noticed that Max was the remaining figure who was standing in front of him. His son was crying as he stood in front of his rival and George looked like he was close to tears as well. Jos tilted his head as he listened to Max and George. 

“I can’t believe I’m crying about this. I don’t even know Anthoine that well.” Max said as he sniffled.

George rubbed a hand up and down his arm gently.

“It’s just so horrible, even after everything that happened with Jules, it shows that driving is still really dangerous.” He said quietly.

Max let out a sob.

“If he dies…” He trailed off.

George immediately wrapped his arms around the Dutchman and let him cry. 

“It’s alright. It’s alright.” He soothed.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to drive tomorrow.” Sobbed Max.

“You will.” Insisted George.

Jos watched on as Max continued to cry in George’s arms. He couldn’t help but think what if George was Max’s boyfriend. He didn’t think they were good friends, Max had never really spoken about George. It was the only reasonable explanation. Yes, both drivers were shocked and upset by what had happened with Anthoine but Jos never imagined that Max would break down in George’s arms. Unless they were dating. He glared at the pair. This couldn’t continue. He had to put a stop to this. Realistically, he didn’t have any sort of plan about how to approach the situation other than knowing that he would have to ask George what his intentions were with Max. It was too late to do it now. He would have to do it tomorrow after the race. He had to be careful though. Max couldn’t find out about this, Jos would have to confront George with no one else around. 

Race day came and Jos was more anticipating how he was going to approach George rather than focusing on the race his son would be driving in. He didn’t really have time to think about George when the race did start as Max retired and returned to the Red Bull hospitality. Jos couldn’t focus on the race, he was too hyped up for what was eventually going to happen. When the race was over, Jos attempted to get near the Williams garage in order to find out when debrief was taking place to determine how long he would have to wait before he could get George on his own. As Max was in debrief with the rest of the team at Red Bull, Jos decided to hide out around the Williams motorhome to wait for George. Unfortunately for Jos, he had to wait a while but he was determined to confront the young driver. The minute that he saw George on his own, he pounced. He grabbed the brunette’s arm and made sure to cover his mouth to stop him from screaming as he dragged the young Brit out of sight. George had never been so scared in all his life when he left the motorhome to have his arm grabbed. It wasn’t until he was slammed against the wall of the motorhome that he realised it was Jos who had grabbed him. He tried to calm down his breathing but he was petrified as the Dutchman looked back at him, furious.

“I want to know what your intentions are with my son.” Sneered Jos.

He could feel his blood boil as George frowned at him. He pushed him further back against the wall, taking pleasure when the young brunette groaned.

“I want you to tell me the truth so I’ll move my hand but if you dare scream, I won’t hesitate to hurt you.” Jos said in a hardened tone.

George nodded frantically in understanding and Jos carefully moved his hand as he kept an eye on the young driver as if he was daring him to shout out.

“I want to know what’s going on between you and Max.” Jos said seriously.

Again, George looked confused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said honestly.

“Yesterday, you and Max were hugging. You’ve never really been the best of friends so there can only be one explanation. I know he’s dating a driver so it must be you.” Jos insisted.

George shook his head.

“I swear it’s not me, I was just comforting him yesterday. He was upset about Anthoine’s crash, there’s nothing more to it than that.” He said quickly.

Jos looked even more angry. He figured that George was lying because he was scared of him.

“You’re lying to me. Tell me the truth!” He snapped.

“I am telling you the truth, I’m not dating your son!” Insisted George.

Jos got right up in George’s face and the young driver tried to shrink against the wall, away from Jos’ hold.

“If you’re not his boyfriend, who is?” He questioned.

“I can’t tell you.” Murmured George.

Jos saw red. He could tell by the look that George was giving him that the stubborn driver wasn’t going to answer him. The young Brit had no time to react as Jos pulled his arm back and punched him in the chin. His head connected against the wall and he blacked out before falling to the floor in a heap. Jos took in some deep breaths as he looked at his fist then back down at George. He stepped over the unconscious Brit and left him lying on the floor. He made his way back to Red Bull hospitality, trying to think about whether or not it would be a good idea to just talk to Max himself. The older man was still waiting in hospitality for a while before team members finally left debrief. He greeted Max the minute he saw him and they headed out together. Just as Jos was about to mention to Max that they really had to talk, they were distracted by members of the Williams team running around and shouting frantically. Jos turned to look at Max when George’s name was mentioned as he tried to interpret his son’s reaction. He looked worried but not too concerned and Jos didn’t know what to make of it.

“Come on, Max. Let’s get going.” He tried to say.

Max wasn’t having any of it as he headed in the direction of the crowd of people who were hovering around George who still remained unconscious on the floor. Max gasped when he caught sight of his fellow rival. Jos swallowed nervously as he prayed that George would remain unconscious there and then. If the younger man woke up, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself should George reveal that Jos had been behind this. Jos tried to pull Max away when a few medics arrived with a stretcher to take him to the medical centre.

“Max, we really should go, he’ll be fine.” Insisted Jos.

His son refused to cooperate and shook his arm away from his father’s grip. Jos was interrupted by his phone ringing and he left Max and the crowd to answer. It was his wife. He took the call in order to distract himself. He didn’t tell her what happened, he was more bothered about filling his mind with other things so he allowed her to talk about their young son. Jos mentioned very little about the race, not wanting to think back to his son’s retirement. When he eventually finished the call, he hung up and headed to the medical centre since everyone had now gone and Jos figured that Max was checking up on George. He looked around the centre and found himself standing outside the door of the room that George was in. The young Brit was lying on a bed and was still unconscious. What concerned and frightened Jos was that it was Charles who was holding George's hand, not Max. Charles was crying as he gazed down at George. He was looking at George the same way that Pierre looked at Cate a day or two earlier. Jos turned and left the centre. He couldn't stand to watch the scene in front of him. He had been wrong. George had been telling the truth. It raised a question though. If George wasn't Max's boyfriend, then who the hell was dating his son? His thoughts were disturbed as Lando ran past him and rushed into the medical centre. Jos frowned. Why was Lando here? He hid round the corner as Max and Lando both stepped out of the centre. 

"How is he?" Lando asked concerned. 

"He should be fine, he hit his head pretty hard. The medics are just waiting for him to wake up." Replied Max softly. 

"How's Charles?" asked Lando. 

Max sighed. 

"He's worried. It's horrible, his friend has crashed in a race and now his boyfriend is hurt." He muttered sadly. 

"He'll be fine, he's strong and so is George." Responded Lando firmly. 

Max gave Lando a small smile. 

"How are you?" He asked softly. 

Lando smiled back as he wrapped his arms around Max's waist as he cuddled close to him. 

"I'm fine. I can't wait to spend more time with you. I think we need it." He murmured. 

Max chucked softly. 

"Yes, we do." He agreed. 

They stood with their arms around each other for a few minutes before Max pulled back slightly and raised a hand to cup Lando's cheek. His thumb stroked over the soft skin before he leaned in and kissed Lando gently on the mouth. It didn't last long and they eventually pulled away from one another rather reluctantly. 

"I need to go and grab my stuff, I'll see you later?" Lando asked. 

Max nodded. 

"Of course." He replied softly. 

They smiled at one another before Max headed back into the medical centre and Lando walked back in the direction of the McLaren motorhome. What they didn’t realise was Jos had witnessed their entire conversation as well as their kiss. He was furious. He had been so wrong. It was Lando who was dating his son. He had misread the hug between George and Max, jumped to conclusions quickly and because of that George was hurt, which meant he would probably be in a lot of trouble when George did wake up. It was his fault but then in his mind if Max had just told him about his boyfriend, then things wouldn’t have escalated. He wouldn’t be allowed to explain himself. If he told Max that he was the one who hurt George, his son would be so angry. Jos couldn’t think straight. He had never considered that Lando could be dating his son. He had been more focussed on people like Daniel who were close to Max. What he didn’t realise was that Max was only close to George because he was friends with Lando. The only reason why George had comforted Max was because the young Brit had found Max before Lando found his boyfriend first. Jos wasn’t aware of any of this as he caught sight of Lando continuing on his way to through the paddock. Lando should be the one lying in the bed unconscious. Jos couldn’t stand still. His fists curled up tightly as anger raged within him as he watched his son’s boyfriend. He had to talk to him. Now. He raced through the paddock and marched into the McLaren motorhome which was surprisingly empty and made his way to Lando’s room. The young man looked shocked when he turned around as soon as Jos opened the door. The older man could tell that the young driver was nervous. They didn’t really talk and they barely knew each other. Jos closed the door behind him and took satisfaction in the fact that Lando began to shake with fear. 

“How’s my son in law doing?” He asked a little too politely.

Lando’s eyes widened which would’ve been comical had Jos not looked as if he wanted to kill someone. The young Brit gulped.

“What?” 

Jos glared at him.

“I’m going to cut the pleasantries. I want to know what’s going on between you and my son.” He demanded.

Lando looked around the room nervously as he attempted to find a means of escape.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said shakily. 

Jos took a step forward and Lando found that he was being backed into the wall and he panicked.

“You know what I’m talking about. Your little moment outside the medical centre for starters.” Stated Jos.

Lando shook his head.

“Yes, I know what’s going on. I just wish I had found out before I hit George then he wouldn’t be in this mess.” Said Jos firmly.

Lando frowned.

“You hurt George? He’s hurt because of you?” He questioned frantically.

Jos quickly gained on Lando and shoved him back against the wall. The young Brit whimpered as Jos grabbed him by the collar of his top.

“If only Max had been honest with me, we wouldn’t be in this situation. No, he manages to tell everyone but his own father. How dare he! He shouldn’t be dating someone like you. It’s not right that he’s dating a man but he’s dating a rival, another driver. You know this will wreck his career. He has no chance of winning a championship if he spends his whole time being focussed on you rather than on his driving!” Snapped Jos.

“You can’t tell Max who to date, he’s his own person.” Insisted Lando quietly.

It was the wrong thing to say as Jos wrapped a hand around Lando’s neck and the young driver frantically tried to get out of the older man’s grip.

“Don’t you dare challenge me! You don’t get a say in this. You can’t be with Max, I won’t allow it!” Shouted Jos. 

Before Lando could reply, the door flew open and Max stood at the door in shock. He recomposed himself not a second later and raced forward to pull Jos away from his boyfriend.

“Let him go, what are you doing?” He demanded.

He quickly checked that Lando was alright as he gripped his shoulders gently as the younger man attempted to get his breathing under control. When he was satisfied that Lando was alright, he stood in front of him protectively as he turned back to his dad.

“What the fuck are you playing at?” He asked angrily.

Jos looked just as furious as his son.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m trying to show your boyfriend that he shouldn’t be dating you. Thanks for telling me, by the way.” He said sarcastically.

“I know what you did to George, he told Charles and I what happened.” Said Max firmly.

“It wouldn’t have happened if you had told me the truth.” Snapped Jos.

“What so you could react like that. This is why I kept it quiet. I didn’t want you to tell Lando that he can’t go out with me. I can date who I like, dad.” Max shot back.

“You can’t date another man, it’s not right.” Shouted Jos.

“It’s the 21st century, I can do what I like. Get with it, dad. I can’t date girls. It’s not right for me. I love Lando, can’t you just let us be?” Max tried to reason.

“I can’t let you do this, you’ll ruin your career.” Stated Jos.

“I’ll ruin your life by going to the police by telling them that you assaulted George.” Threatened Max.

“You’ll do no such thing.” Sneered Jos.

He took a step forward but stopped when Lando let out a whine. Max moved his arms so that he could shield his boyfriend from his father. Jos shook his head in disgust. He knew that Max would shop him to the police, he was telling the truth. He had to leave.

“You’re pathetic.” 

When Jos turned and left the room, Max quickly wrapped his arms around Lando who seemed to deflate in his arms. He tightened his grip and ran a hand through his boyfriend’s hair. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He whispered repeatedly. 

After a moment or two, Max removed his hand from Lando’s hair, ignoring the whine of protest. He looked into his boyfriend’s eyes as the younger man shifted to look at him. 

“Come on, George is awake. Let’s go and see him.” Said Max gently.

“What are you going to do about your dad?” Questioned Lando quickly.

Max let out a deep breath.

“I’ll talk to George first. I have no issues with going to the police. He has to pay for what he’s done. To you and to George.”


End file.
